Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms, to start off your work week. I’m pointing you to articles about leadership, strategy, industries, innovation, women and work, and work and learning now and in the future. Highlights include ten principles of strategy through execution, the four stages of success in executing strategy, why Amazon is the world’s most innovative company of 2017, Silicon Valley Bank report says lack of women in tech startups is getting worse, the risks and benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, disrupting 21st Century corporate learning, and raining that works.

Be sure to look for dots that you can connect.

Note: Some links require you to register or are to publications that have some form of limited paywall.

Thinking about Leadership and Strategy

From Ivan de Souza, Richard Kauffeld, and David van Oss: 10 Principles of Strategy through Execution

“How to link where your company is headed with what it does best.”

From Rick Bohan: Leaders Must Have ‘Strategic Intelligence’

“the shortsighted insistence that a specific ROI be required of each and every element of the organization is simply an admission by leadership that it just doesn’t understand strategy and is too lazy to figure it out. Such a view sees the organization as no more than the sum of its parts”

From the London Business School: Executing strategy: the four stages of success

“Do you have the right structures, processes and people to support your strategy? Just telling people what your strategy is won’t work, says Costas Markides”

Industries and Analysis

From Bryce Gray: Solar’s bright future seen in financing options

“Indeed, whether it’s mounting rooftop solar panels or buying a high-efficiency heating and cooling system, one paradox of eco-conscious home improvement is that it’s usually only available to those who can afford hefty investments — and not the less-wealthy homeowners in greater need of the savings those projects make possible.”

From Filipe Barbosa, Jonathan Woetzel, Jan Mischke, Maria Joao Ribeirinho, Mukund Sridhar, Matthew Parsons, Nick Bertram, and Stephanie Brown: Reinventing construction through a productivity revolution

“To transform the sector, action is needed in seven areas or through broader adoption of mass-production approaches.”

From Paco Underhill: Shopping + Culture

“While shopping mall and high street retail traffic is down, major museum traffic is up. Museum design and operating protocols have adapted with changing public tastes. The museum’s combination of culture, education and entertainment are giving theme parks a run for their money. What can we learn from this?”

Innovation and Technology

From the Economist: The promise of augmented reality

“Replacing the real world with a virtual one is a neat trick. Combining the two could be more useful.”

From Noah Robischon: Why Amazon Is The World’s Most Innovative Company Of 2017

“A rapid expansion of Prime plus bold bets in the physical world are allowing the retailer to offer even more, even faster and smarter.”

From Nathan Furr, Jeffrey H. Dyer, and Kate O’Keeffe: Innovating at the Intersections

“The most valuable innovation is often found at the intersection of firms’ capabilities. Exploiting these opportunities requires a new approach to collaboration.”

Women and the Workplace

From Cromwell Schubarth: Silicon Valley Bank report says lack of women in tech startups is getting worse

“There has been a lot of talk about the lack of women leaders in the U.S. tech industry in recent years, but a new report this week shows the situation may actually be getting worse.”

From Ally Marotti: Diversity advocate: Boards ‘not moving fast enough’ to add women, minorities

“Women and minorities are occupying more seats at corporate boardroom tables than they were four years ago and now hold 30.8 percent of board seats among 492 Fortune 500 companies studied by the Alliance for Board Diversity, a collaboration of four diversity organizations.”

From Rick Lepsinger: How Men and Women Use Power and Influence In the Workplace

“Within cross-functional teams of people representing different departments, positions and even cultures, a leader’s success often depends on his or her ability to gain the cooperation and support of others. Research by our colleagues has shown some influencing styles vary across cultures, but we wanted to know if gender differences might also play a role in using power and influence in the workplace.”

Work and Learning Now and in the Future

From Irving Wladawsky-Berger: The Fourth Industrial Revolution – Risks and Benefits

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) was the central theme of the 2016 World Economic Forum (WEF) that took place a year ago in Davos, Switzerland. It continued to play a prominent role in the recently concluded 2017 annual meeting. Coming to grips with the impact of the fourth industrial revolution was among the top leadership priorities discussed at this year’s meeting.”

From Daniela Reuteler: Training that works (hint: motivation matters more than you think)

“We tend to assume that a well designed program, a popular method, or the newest technologies guarantee training effectiveness. We take for granted other factors that are as, or even more important. Have you ever asked yourself how employees think or feel before they start training?”

From Janet Sernack: Disrupting 21st Century Corporate Learning

“Having been in the corporate learning and development space now for more than 25 years, it’s been really useful to invest time immersing myself in researching recent developments and emerging trends. It seems that a ‘new world of work’ is emerging in the 21st century disrupting the corporate learning paradigm. It’s turning old instructional, episodic & live training models upside down, as technology, financial, people and competitive pressures drive necessary change and introduces new possibilities for achieving 21st century corporate success, growth and sustainability.”

More Leadership Posts from Wally Bock

Boss’s Tip of the Week: Two kinds of fairness

People will judge how fair you are in two different ways. One of 347 tips from Become a Better Boss One Tip at a Time.

Leadership: Caring for the people is part of the job

You may not do it naturally, but part of your job is to care for the people on your team.

Book Review: Scaling Up Excellence

My review of Scaling Up Excellence by Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao. If you read business books, read this one.

Leaders and Strategies in Real Life: 3/7/17

Articles about real leaders and real companies in real life. This week it’s articles about Bill Ruh, Mike Cunningham, Michael Bloomberg, Bonnie Spencer Swayze, and Aron Ain.

From the Independent Business Blogs: 3/8/17

Pointers to posts by Ken Downer, Greg Satell, Jesse Lyn Stoner, Tanveer Naseer, and Mary Jo Asmus.

Writing well gives you the edge in business and in life. If you want to get a book done, improve your blog posts, or make your web copy more productive, please check out my blog about business writing. My coaching calendar for authors and blog writers currently has time open. Please contact me if you’re interested.

The 347 tips in my ebook can help you Become a Better Boss One Tip at a Time.